Taking The NBA’s Best Shot

It isn’t that often in which an NBA team will come along and do what the Golden State Warriors are currently doing. The Warriors went 67-15 en route to winning the NBA Championship in 2015. Last season the Warriors would set a new single-season record by going 73-9, but they fell one victory short of repeating as NBA Champions. And although that the Warriors fell one victory short of their ultimate goal last summer, they still have a have a huge bulls eye on their backs during the current NBA season.

As if having two of the best perimeter shooters in the NBA in point guard Stephen Curry and shooting guard Klay Thompson wasn’t enough, the rich got richer when the Warriors signed small forward Kevin Durant last summer. Now it’s a classic game of “pick your poison” as either Durant, Curry, or Thompson can explode for 40 points on a given night as this is a team that has embraced the spotlight.

The Warriors entered this NBA season with Curry being the two-time reigning MVP, along with the fact that there’s a huge consensus of basketball fans that are upset about Durant’s decision to leave the Thunder as a free agent in order to sign with the team that eliminated him in the Western Conference Finals last June. And once you factor in that the Warriors are very good, along with the notion of power forward Draymond Green not being Mr. Popular due to his questionable play on the court, Golden State might be the closest thing to a hated team that the NBA has right now. But if there’s a group guys who aren’t concerned about this, it is indeed the Warriors.

This NBA season didn’t begin like the previous one did for the Warriors when they won their first 24 games as on opening night, they fell at home to the San Antonio Spurs. And by Golden State’s sixth game, they had tasted defeat for the second time as the young Los Angeles Lakers got the best of them. But then Golden State would get on one of those vintage runs as they would reel of 12 consecutive victories and since then they have not lost two games in a row. Each time that the Warriors have lost a game, they followed it up by winning at least their next four in a row.

There were people who wondered how the Warriors would be able to make things work with Durant, Thompson, Curry, and Green all in the starting lineup. But Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has one of the most unselfish teams in the NBA. Each of these players have seen their points per game diminish this season, but it’s all for the greater good for the team in order to win another NBA Championship.

Durant led the NBA in scoring on four separate occasions with the Thunder which included a career-high 32 points during his MVP campaign during the 2013-2014 season. But Durant isn’t a one-dimensional player who is focusing on scoring as he wants to win which is what led him to joining the Warriors over the summer. This season Durant’s points per game are down as he’s average 26.2 per contest which still leads the team, however he has become more efficient.

With the Warriors, Durant is averaging a career-high in rebounds (8.4), along with blocks (1.7), while he is also shooting over 54% from the floor. Each time that Durant takes the court you can see the hunger in his eyes as he wants to win an NBA Championship, while also proving to people that he didn’t join the Warriors to merely ride the coat tails of Curry, Thompson, and Green.

Curry’s points per game (24.6), and three-point field goal percentage (40%) are each drastically down from last season. However Curry is still one of the best shooters from long range as teams around the NBA still have reservations as far as leaving him open from beyond the three-point arc.

Thompson might be the forgotten man on the Warriors this season as he’s still averaging 21.1 points per game. But on December 5, Thompson torched the Indiana Pacers for 60 points in just 29 minutes as the Warriors crushed them 142-106. And if teams want to focus on Durant and Curry, Thompson could still be Golden State’s ace in the hole.

Then there is the case of Green who is the Warriors omnipresent player. Curry may have won the NBA’s MVP last year, but there were people who made the case that Green was the best player on the team. This season Green is once again leading the Warriors in assists with 7.5 per game while he is also averaging 8.5 rebounds, 1.9, and 1.4 blocks. Green is still that guy that does the dirty work as any championship needs a player like that. But at times Green can be his own worst enemy as he has been known to make bonehead decisions on the court.

Green racked up several flagrant fouls in the NBA Playoffs last year which led to him ultimately being suspended for Game 5 of the NBA Finals. And Green’s absence was the momentum needed for the Cavaliers to get back into the series and ultimately win the NBA Title. But Green has yet to learn as he kicked Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden in the head earlier this season, and you get the feeling that his antics could cost the Warriors once more when the chips are down in the playoffs.

In signing Durant, the Warriors sacrificed some size as they traded center Andrew Bogut to the Dallas Mavericks, while also allowing center Marreesse Speights to leave in free agency as he signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. And whereas there were some detractors who felt that the Warriors would have issues because of their perceived lack of size, they are currently sixth in rebounding as they are averaging 45.2 per contest.

The Warriors have a commitment to defense and rebounding which includes the likes of center Zaza Pachulia, power forward David West, point guard Shaun Livingston, and small forward Andre Iguodala who is still one of the better perimeter defenders in the NBA.

It’s late January, but the Warriors have all but clinched the Pacific Division for the third consecutive year as they should not be tested until they reach the Western Conference Finals where they will more than likely face the Spurs. The Warriors have lucked out for the fact that they’ve not had to face the Spurs in the last two years in the playoffs, but this season it is almost inevitable as they are clearly the top two teams in the Western Conference. And if the Warriors can escape the Spurs, the Cavs are once again lurking in the NBA Finals.

But this Warriors team appears to be different from the one last season that was all glitz and glamour when they set an NBA record with 73 wins. This Warriors is more business like as the wins are still piling up. And Golden State knows that what they are doing now won’t mean a thing unless they are the last team standing in late June.